All Things Considered

Commonly referred to as "ATC" and a staple for afternoon commutes, NPR's nationally syndicated afternoon news magazine brings you closer to home with the presence of WAMU's local host.

Since May 3, 1971 All Things Considered has been produced every day from NPR's headquarters in Washington, D.C. Featuring a mix of news, interviews, commentaries, reviews, and offbeat features, "ATC" produces 2 hours of fresh content every day for hundreds of public radio stations around the United States.

Elliott Francis

Local Host, All Things Considered

Francis has worked alongside some of the most influential media executives in the U.S. during his 25 years as a news anchor, including FOX News President and Chairman Roger Ailes, former CNN Executive Vice President Ed Turner, and the founder and former CEO of Johnson Publishing Company, John H. Johnson. In 2002, shortly after joining the ABC news affiliate in Washington DC (WJLA-TV) as the morning co-anchor, Francis was thrust into the rigors of live, non-stop coverage of the DC sniper shootings and investigation, sometimes speaking 8-9 hours unscripted. A skilled interviewer, Francis once convinced singer John Denver to go "on-camera" with details of his upcoming DUI trial.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

All the dry weather means there's less water flowing through the once mighty river into the Gulf of Mexico, and low outflow means saltwater from the Gulf is creeping in. Some Louisiana cities have already begun purchasing drinking water, and now New Orleans is at risk.

The views of vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Paul Ryan are strikingly different, but both espouse the same Catholic faith and are reaching out to Christian voters. Their views, which represent opposite wings of their religion, are a reflection of the growing divide among Catholics.

In Boston, scientists are predicting that climate change will lead to dramatic sea level rise, and more frequent flooding, around the city. Officials are studying the potential impact on roads and sewers and are asking waterfront developers to plan for increased flooding.

When a bicyclist is killed by a car, the tragedy is sometimes marked by fellow cyclists with memorials known as "ghost bikes." Cyclists sand, repaint and decorate the bikes before installing them at crash sites as a sort of roadside shrine.

Some day, your car might be able to "talk" to other cars and traffic signals. In this brave new world, wireless devices will alert drivers to traffic jams, dangers ahead and even take control of the vehicle from the driver to avert a collision. In Ann Arbor today, the largest real-world test of connected vehicles was launched.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya was killed in a car crash last month. Witnesses say it was an accident. But the government is using the case for propaganda purposes, Paya's family suspects a government conspiracy, and a Spanish activist has been jailed.

In the 1950s, when Diller started being funny for a living, there were no female standup comedians making it big. Some critics have said she succeeded because a lot of her material was about mocking herself. She died at home, where she'd been in hospice care after a fall, at the age of 95.

The wife of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has overcome serious illness and a severe aversion to politics to campaign for her husband. Ann Romney is now passionate about her role promoting and protecting her husband on the campaign trail.

All Things Considered host Melissa Block talks with Nick Baumann of Mother Jones magazine about the belief at the core of Missouri state Rep. Todd Akin's furor-raising statement over the weekend: that "legitimate rape" rarely leads to pregnancy. The belief that hormones or adrenaline protect women from conception during rape has been perpetuated for decades in American political discourse, without scientific basis. Studies have found approximately 5 percent of rapes result in pregnancy.

Social media experts Baratunde Thurston and Deanna Zandt answer questions about how to behave in the digital age. This week's topic: is there a limit to the number of baby — or animal — photos you should post to Facebook?

All Things Considered host Melissa Block talks to Jake Sherman of political news site Politico about the report that last August, during a fact-finding Congressional trip to Israel, freshman Republican lawmakers went for a late-night swim — one of them naked — in the Sea of Galilee. The Federal Bureau of Investigation ended up looking into what happened.

For the first time in its 80-year history, the Augusta National Gold Club has admitted women to become members. The home of the Masters says former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be one of two women admitted.

Each month, NPR's All Things Considered invites a poet into the newsroom to see how the show comes together, and to write an original poem about the news. This month, our NewsPoet is Tess Taylor. Want to write your own poem about the day's news? You can put them in the comments below.

Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin is apologizing for comments he made yesterday about rape that touched off bi-partisan criticism and outrage. Akin, who is running for the Senate seat in Missouri held by Democrat Claire McCaskill, told a television interviewer this weekend that women's bodies are able to prevent pregnancy caused by what he termed legitimate rape. Akin now says he made a mistake, but that he wont drop out of the race. Still, republicans from Mitt Romney on down are distancing themselves from him.

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